Cigarette holder



Feb. 7, 1933. L. OFFERMAN CIGARETTE HOLDER F il ed March 11,

lNVENTOR Lows Offermcm Patented Feb. 7, 1933 UNI ED vs'mxres LOUIS FFER1VLAN,iO F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK I oreannmrn HOLDER Application filed'March 11, 1930. Serial No.434;842.

This invention relates to cigarette holders, and more particularly to cigarette holders of the table or desk type.

A known type of cigarette holder comprlses tom and open at the top, and within which there is slidably mounted cigarette holding and ejecting mechanism including a circulartray and radial vanes or partitions. A cover for the cylindrical casing is mounted above the partitions and is provided with a handle, by means of which the cover and tray may be elevated partially out of the casing, thereby.

making the cigarettes therein accessible.

In the manufacture of such cigarette holders it is necessary to obtain ayvery precise and accurate fit between the movable member including the tray and radial vanes and the interior walls of the casing, for, on the one hand, clearance is necessary in order to permit free movement, and, on the other hand, the clearance must be made slight in order to prevent the movable tray from tipping to anangle which might cause binding or chattering. One object of the'present invention is to improve such a cigarette holder in order to make the motion or reciprocation of the movable portion thereof free and'yet definitely guided. This I accomplish by providing the casing with an upright post, preferably located centrally thereof, and providing the movable portion of the cigarette holder with a sleeve which is freely reciprocab-le on the clearance may be provided between the caslong as may be desired. To this end resilient means are provided'which tend to elevate the tray and cover of the holder. Suitable additional means are provided for locking the a cylindrical casing which is closed at the botpost. With this arrangement considerable cover in closed positionagainst the tension of the resilient means. i I 1 Another object of the present invention is to dense a cigarette holder embodying both of the foregoing features, that is, the centralv 5- guideor post and the automatic ejection of the cigarettes. F or this purpose it is merely necessary to. provide a helical spring surrounding the post and located between the tray and the bottom of the casing, so that the o spr ng is compressed when the cigarette holder is closed.

Still another object of myiinvention re-, sides 1n the provision of suitable locking means for keeping the holder closed, and m manually operable releasing means for permitting the holder to open. For the sake of accessibility, the said releasing means is located at the top of the holder above the v cover of.- the casing, while the locking means 7o 1s conveniently located relative thereto by being made of mating elements located at the toptof the reciprocable sleeve andfthe upright pos A still further object of the present inven-v tion is to make the cigarette holder capable of a dual function so that it may be used as an ash tray as well as a cigarette holder, and for this'purpose' the cylindrical casing so far described is mounted upon a base suit. ably shaped to constitute an ash tray. .7

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the cigarette holder elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are'more particularly described and sought to bedefined in the claims. Thespecification is accompanied by. a drawing which showsthe. preferred embodiments of my invention, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the cigarette holder; 5

Fig. 2 is'a vertical section taken through the aXisof the same; a

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken 1n the plane of the line 33 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken in the plane of the line in Fig: 2.

Referring to the. drawing, the cigarette holder comprises generally a stationary case V 9; be described subsequently.

ing A, within which there is reciprocably mounted a movable cigarette holding and ejecting assemblage B, which is constantly urged to an elevated position by resilient means C. The movable assemblage B may be locked in depressed position by suitable locking and release means D. The entire holder may, if desired, be mounted upon an enlarged base E shaped to act as an ash receiver. 7

Considered more in detail, the casing A is preferably cylindrical in shape and closed at its lower end by a preferably arcuate wall 2. The upper end of thecasing is open, and the edge thereof is preferably rolled over as at 4 to form a bead. An additional bead 6 may be formed slightly below the upper edge' of the casing, which is decorative and possesses an additional function which will An upright rodor post 8 is centrally located within the casing A. -When the holder is combined with an ash tray, as in the present case, the post 8 may extend downwardly through the holder and into a pedestal 1O formedat the center of the tray E, and the anchorage of the post tothe tray may also serveto hold the casing A in place.

The movable portion B of the holder coma tube or sleeve 12 which slides freely upon the post 8. A cigarette holding and ejecting tray'l4 is fixed to the lower end of' the sleeve 12, while a cover 16 for the casing A is fixed totheupper end of the sleeve 12.

.The tray-14 may be provided with radial vanes or partitions 18 which serve to keep the cigarettes in a nearly vertical position, and which further make it possible to separate different brands of cigarettes within the holder. It should be noted that unlike previous cigarette holders of this type, the tray 14 and the partitions 18 need not be carefully made and assembled to closely fit the casing A, for the movement of the assemblage B is guided by the fit of the post 8 and the sleeve 12 As so far described, the holder might be opened manually and closed by gravlty. However, I have devised an arrangement 4 which is found far more convenient in practice becausethe holder may be automatically opened by resilient means C. As is obvious from the drawing, this may comprise simply a helical spring preferably surrounding the post 8 and located between the tray 14 and the bottom of the cylindrical casing. The spring is preferably made of such a length that-the movableassembly B is only partially elevated to a height such that the cigarettes are readily accessible and yet are confined sufliciently to prevent them from falling out of the holder.

The permissible upward movement of the ejector assembly B may be positively limited to prevent the assembly from being lifted recesses 22 cut in the vertical edges of the.

partitions 18. The lower portions of the partitions 18 extend fairly close to the inner wall of the casing A, whereas the upper portions are stepped inward or terminate at a smaller diameter, which clears the inner diameter ofthe retaining ring 20. In this manner the assembly B can not be raised beyond the point determined by the contact of the stepped edges of the partitions 18 with the ring 20. If it is desired to disassemble the holder, the retaining ring may first be released and removed, after which the movable portion of the holder may readily be lifted from the casing. I

To close the holder the cover is depressed against the pressure ofthe spring C, and

locking means is provided to hold the same in' closed position. The locking means is manually releasable, and this release I prefer to locate at the top of the holder for ready accessibility. The locking mechanism comprises means on the movable assembly B cooperating with mating means 32 on the post 8. The means 32 is simply'an annular groove cut in the post, while the means. 30 .in the present instancecomprises a pair of fingers resiliently urged together by a spring U shaped member D. The upper end of the post 8 may be rounded ortapered as at 34 in order to readily separate the fingers 30 when the cover of the holder is depressed. It will be clear that when the holder is entirely closed the fingers 30 pass the upper end 34 of the post8 and enter the groove 32,-thereby disposed within'these cam surfaces. When,

the member D is in'its normal erect position the legs thereof may come together sufficiently to permit the fingers 30 to enter the groove 32, and so to keep the holder in closed position. A sideward movement of the member D causes the legs thereof to bear against the cam surfaces 44, which spread or separate the legs slightly and thereby cause the fingers 30 to leave the groove 32, and so to permit the holder to open. This cam release mechanism is so designed that an exceedingly slight sideward pressure or touch on the member D releases the holder and permits the springC to raise the cigarettes into the open oraccessi ble position. There is no tendency. for the holder to tip over during the releasing movement, and this is particularly true when the holder is provided with an enlarged base such as the base E here illustrated.

Additional use is made of the base E in the present instance by shaping it concavely upward so that it may be used as an ash tray.

The construction, mode of operation, and the many advantages of my novel cigarette holder will for the most part be apparent from the foregoing description thereof. The movable portion or cigarette ejecting assembly is smoothly and accurately guided by the fit of the sleeve on the stationary post within the casing of the holder, so that an accurate fit between the cigarette ejecting tray and partitions within the casing is unnecessary. The holder may be opened automatically by spring action and may be left in the open position until those present all have had an opportunity to obtain a cigarette. Accidental removal of the cigarette ejecting assembly entirely out of the casing is guarded against. The locking and release mechanism is exceedingly simple and operable with very slight pressure. The holder may be mounted upon an enlarged base to increase.

its stability, and this base is preferably suitably shaped to act as an ash tray.

It should be understood that the various features of my invention, such as the central guide for the movable portion of the holder and the automatic elevation of the movable portion of the holder, may be applied and utilized separately as well as in combination, and further that in either case they may be applied to a cigarette holder which is not cylindrical in configuration.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in the preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention, defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A cigarette holder comprising a casing, a post located therein, a sleeve reciprocably mounted on said post, a tray fixed to the lower end of said sleeve, a cover fixed to the upper end of said sleeve, resilient means tench ing to elevate said sleeve, and mechanism for locking the sleeve in depressed position comprising mating means on the post and on the sleeve.

2. A cigarette holder comprising a cylindrical casing, a post centrally located therein, a sleeve reciprocably mounted on said post, a tray fixed to the lower end of said sleeve, 21. cover fixed to the upper end of said sleeve, resilient means tending to elevate said sleeve, and mechanism for locking the sleeve,

in depressed position comprising an annular groove in the upper end of the post, and manually releasable resilient means mounted on the upper end of the sleeve above the cover for mating with said groove.

3. A cigarette holder comprising a cylindrical casing, a post centrally located therein, a sleeve reciprocably mounted on said post, a tray fixed to the lower end of said sleeve, a cover-fixed to the upper end of said sleeve, resilient means tendingto elevate said sleeve, mechanism for locking the holder in closed position comprising mating means on the post and on the sleeve, and manually operable means mounted above the cover for revice comprising a stationary part including a cylindrical casing and a post centrally located therein, and a vertically reciprocable part including a sleeve reciprocably mounted on the post, a circular cigarette holding and ejecting tray mounted at the lower end of the sleeve, radial partitions mounted on the tray and sleeve and forming cigarette holding compartments, and a cover mounted at the upper end of the sleeve and spaced from the tray and partitions in order to permit free access to the cigarettes supported by the tray, resilient means surrounding the post between the tray and the bottom of the casin and tending to elevate and keep elevate the tray and cover to make the cigarettes accessible, means to limit the elevation of the movable part of the cigarette holder including an annular outwardly pressed groove near the top of the cylindrical casing, stops formed on the radial partitions, and a stop ring resiliently expanded into and supported by the aforesaid annular groove, and releasable mating means mounted on the stationary and reciprocable parts of the cigarette holder for locking the tray and cover in closed position against the resilient means.

Signed at New York in the county, of New York and State of New York this 10th day of March, A. D. 1930.

LOUIS OFFERMAN. 

